Clearer for a carpet sweeper brush

ABSTRACT

The invention provides, for the unidirectionally rotatable brush of a carpet sweeper, a clearer comb whose teeth are spaced-apart parallel triangular plates having tips that project into the bristles of the brush.

[ Mar. 7, 1972 United States Patent Bienek 219,848 9/1879 1,420,830 6/1922 Frankenstein [54] CLEARER FOR A CARPET SWEEPER BRUSH [72] Inventor:

Gunter Bienek, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Str, 35, Trier, Germany June 16, 1969 ...l5/48 .....l5l48 .....15/48 [22] Filed:

n n BB mm mm 66 8 6 9 H 0 1 3 7 l 3 l l [21] Appl. No.: 833,297

w S 6 3 9 l l 4 1 4 6 8 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 15, 1968 Primary Examiner-Edward I... Roberts Attorney-Robert W. Beach 15/43 ABSTRACT The invention provides, for the unidirectionally rotatable 15/411481 49 50 C, brush of a carpet sweeper, a clearer comb whose teeth are 15/142 38 spaced-apart parallel triangular plates having tips that project into the bristles of the brush.

[51] Int. Cl. [58] Field References Cited 1Claims,2DrawingFigu1-es UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,367,722 2/1921 sm11h......................................,,15/48 PAIENTEUMAR 1 m2 /nventor GUNTER BIENEK ATTO R N E Y CLEARER FOR A CARPET SWEEPER BRUSH This invention relates to a clearer, for clearing adherent matter and debris, from the rotary brush of a carpet sweeper.

Various comblike clearer devices have already been proposed for clearing the bristles of the brushes of carpet sweepers of adherent bits of fluff or the like after the brush has swept up dust and other foreign matter from a carpet. One such clearer device is supposed to prevent threads, bits of fluff and the like, which may become wound around the bristles, from getting back onto the carpet upon subsequent rotation of the brush.

The previously known clearer devices of this type are not satisfactory, since it repeatedly occurs that the comb becomes clogged up with hairs, threads or bits of fluff with the result that the entry to the usual dust collector of the sweeper becomes restricted or completely blocked.

An object of this invention is to obviate this difficulty and to provide a construction of clearer, as above discussed, which prevents adhesion of threads and bits of fluff to the bristles, which remains clean at all times, and maintains the entry to the dust collector always free, whilst preventing dirt or other matter from getting out of the dust collector back to the rotating brush upon backward and forward movement of the sweeper.

With this object in view the present invention provides a clearer for clearing the unidirectionally rotatable brush of a carpet sweeper to keep it free of adherent matter and debris, which is a comb having teeth in the form of triangular plates spaced apart side-by-side in parallel planes, the tips of said teeth projecting into the bristles of the brush.

The construction is conveniently such that the bristles project substantially radially from a hub of the brush, which rotates about a horizontal axis, in which case the teeth are conveniently orientated to be directed substantially towards the midpoints of horizontally disposed ones of said bristles. Preferably each tooth has a front edge which is inclined at an angle in the range from 60 to 70 relative to the horizontally disposed ones of said bristles or to the horizontal diametral plane of the brush and a rear edge which is substantially perpendic ular to the horizontally disposed bristles or to the horizontal diametral plane of the brush.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal cross section showing a carpet sweeper incorporating a preferred embodiment of the clearer of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan of the brush and clearer assembly with the top of the sweeper omitted.

As shown in the drawings, a carpet sweeper 1 is fitted with running wheels 2 and a rotatable brush 3. The brush 3 rotates unidirectionally only in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, so that dirt or other foreign matter picked up by radial bristles 4 of the brush are swept to the right towards the middle of the sweeper as the sweeper travels to the right so as to be received by a dust collector 5.

Mounted above the brush 3 is a comblike clearer 6, having teeth 7 penetrating into the bristles 4 which extend substantially radially from the hub of the brush which rotates about a substantially horizontal axis. Teeth 7 of the clearer 6 are designed as thin triangular plates, as can be seen from FIG. 1,

these plates being disposed side-by-side in parallel planes. As can furthermore be appreciated from this figure, the teeth 7 are so orientated that the rear edges 10 of the teeth are located'a substantial distance forward of the brush axis to locate the tips 8 thereof directed towards and preferably disposed substantially at the midpoints of the bristles 4 when the latter are projecting horizontally forward towards the dust collector 5 as shown in FIG. 1. The front edge 1 l of each tooth 7 is inclined upward and forward from the forward portion of the brush and the angle 9 between the front edge of each tooth, the edge farther from the brush axis, and the bristles projecting horizontally forward advantageously is in the range from 60 to 70, formin an under bevel. The rear edge 10 of each tooth 7 the edge 0 oser to the brush axis preferably extends substantially perpendicularly to the horizontally projecting bristles.

Exhaustive tests have shown that with such a design of clearer heavier dirt particles 12 are swept satisfactorily into the dust collector 5. Bits of fluff or threads, which tend to adhere to the rotating brush, are removed from the bristles by the teeth 7 and are then constrained to move upwardly on the front edges 11 of the platelike teeth disposed forward beyond the brush, to fall free of the brush subsequently into the dust collector.5.

The clearer can be manufactured from any suitable material, but it has proved particularly successful to make it from a plastics material with the teeth integral with and projecting edgewise forward from the supporting back bar of the clearer, as shown in FlGS. l and 2.

The invention is, of course, not restricted to the precise details of the foregoing example, and variations may be made thereto. Thus, for example, the bristles 4 of the brush 3 need not necessarily be radially disposed as described, but the relationship of the comb teeth front and rear edges to the forwardly projecting horizontal brush bristles will have such relationship to the forward portion of the horizontal diametral plane of the brush.

1 claim:

1. A carpet sweeper comprising a rotatable brush, and a clearer comb for clearing adherent matter and debris from said brush including downwardly tapered triangular plate teeth spaced apart in parallel planes, having apexes projecting downwardly into bristles of said brush having a greater component of movement upward than rearward past said downwardly projecting teeth apexes, each of said comb teeth having an upright edge closer to the axis of rotation of said brush disposed substantially vertically and an upright edge farther from the axis of rotation of said brush inclined downwardly and toward the axis of rotation of said brush to form an under bevel inclined at an angle in the range of 60 to 70 relative to horizontal, at least the upper portion of the under bevel edge of each tooth being located above the path of movement of the brush bristles as the brush rotates, and means supporting said triangular plate comb teeth in cantilever fashion by their apexes at the upper ends of said substantially vertical edges, providing spaces between adjacent upper edge portions of said teeth unobstructed over at least the major portions of the top edges of said triangular plate teeth for movement of debris upward between said plate teeth and out through the spaces between the upper edge portions of said teeth. 

1. A carpet sweeper comprising a rotatable brush, and a clearer comb for clearing adherent matter and debris from said brush including downwardly tapered triangular plate teeth spaced apart in parallel planes, having apexes projecting downwardly into bristles of said brush having a greater component of movement upward than rearward past said downwardly projecting teeth apexes, each of said comb teeth having an upright edge closer to the axis of rotation of said brush disposed substantially vertically and an upright edge farther from the axis of rotation of said brush inclined downwardly and toward the axis of rotation of said brush to form an under bevel inclined at an angle in the range of 60* to 70* relative to horizontal, at least the upper portion of the under bevel edge of each tooth being located above the path of movement of the brush bristles as the brush rotates, and means supporting said triangular plate comb teeth in cantilever fashion by their apexes at the upper ends of said substantially vertical edges, providing spaces between adjacent upper edge portions of said teeth unobstructed over at least the major portions of the top edges of said triangular plate teeth for movement of debris upward between said plate teeth and out through the spaces between the upper edge portions of said teeth. 